A Longitudinal Study of Support for Children Born After the Disasterand their Families.

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K04840
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Special needs education
• Research Institution: Iwate Medical University
• Principal Investigator: Yagi Junko 岩手医科大学, 医学部, 講師 (80636035)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 桝屋 二郎 東京医科大学, 医学部, 准教授 (70349504) ; 松浦 直己 三重大学, 教育学部, 教授 (20452518)
• Research Collaborator: FUKUCHI Naru
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 東日本大震災 / 発達障害 / 早期発見・早期支援 / 母子メンタルヘルス / 行動障害

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We conducted a 3-year cohort study to investigate children's cognitive development, behavioral problems, maternal mental health, and the associations between them. Participants were 223 children born within 1 year after the Disaster and their parents living in the most seriously devastated areas of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima.
In the first year, delays were recognized in children's cognitive and vocabulary development, while approximately 35% of mothers were likely to show some mental illness, revealing the clear relationship between child's vocabulary development and maternal mental illness. Also, the association between maternal depression and child's behavioral problems was significant. We gave supports for high-risk children/families, in cooperation with kindergartens and counselling services, and in the follow-up studies, a clear tendency towards improvement has been observed in the children's cognitive and vocabulary development, as well as behavioral problems.

Free Research Field

児童精神医学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

これまで調査されたことのなかった「大災害を直接経験していない子ども」の発達やメンタルヘルスの問題において、被災の影響によると考えられる認知や語彙の発達の遅れ、行動上の問題の遷延などが見られ、それらは母親のメンタルヘルスの問題と密接に関連することが明らかとなった。
大災害後には、直接被災した子どもはもちろんだが、震災後に生まれた子どもにも長期的な発達支援と見守りが必要であり、母親や家庭への手厚い養育支援を継続することが肝要かつ不可欠であることが示された。